ABSTRACT
The scope of Soviet relations with Latin America has been shaped by the geographic remoteness of that region from the USSR, by the East-West balance of power, and by the extent of the United States’ influence over its southern neighbors. Prior to the 1960s, Latin America was of only marginal interest to Moscow. Although the fortuitous events in Cuba provided the Soviet Union with a much-needed political and psychological windfall in its competition with the United States and its claim to leadership of the global national liberation struggle, they also confronted Moscow with a variety of unanticipated difficulties. According to Soviet analysts, Latin America bore the unique distinction of being characterized as the “strategic rear” of the United States — and thus presumably the point at which significant damage can be done to US power and prestige.
